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Borland's heir Embarcadero says one dev tool can rule them all

One preciousss codebase delivers apps for Windows, Mac OS, iOS and Android

Embarcadero Technologies, the development tools outfit that inherited much of Borland's technology, has released a new product it says can produce native apps for four operating systems from a single codebase.

That tool is RAD Studio XE5, released this week, and Embarcadero is claiming it is the first development tool capable of producing native apps for Windows, Mac OS, iOS and Android.

Embarcadero knows that not every developer likes the idea of working with a single codebase, but thinks there are decent reasons to do so, not least the performance of native apps.

“In a lot of people's views it is HTML 5 can hit all platforms in one go,” Malcolm Groves, the company's senior director for APAC told The Reg. “Maybe that sacrifices some usability or means they need more senior developers. Or the flipside is to build native solutions for each platform and take the cost hit there.”

The cost of running a development team aside, Groves thinks the quad-platform tool will appeal to those who develop business software and wish to create subsets of those applications to run on mobile devices. Creating those mobile apps without the need to conduct overlapping development efforts should appeal to both ISVs and those working on in-house apps. The former group are in Embarcadero's sights as a target that can be educated to seek out new markets with a single development effort. The latter, the company hopes, will appreciate the fact they can more easily deliver apps to BYOD devices and consider new opportunities presented by the myriad devices adopting Android. ®

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